Humana Takes Health to the Streets With B-cycle Bike Sharing

Grant Harrison, 45, created B-cycle — automated kiosks that let riders rent bikes at prices akin to mass transit — at Humana, in partnership with Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Trek. The national rollout will bring 50,000 bikes to a dozen U.S. cities in the next three years.

"Health-insurance companies have to change. We can't focus solely on policy reform; we're hoping to become a health-creation company. The focus for us is to make fun things healthy. Fifty percent of people drive to work less than 5 miles in their cars. They could be doing this on a bike. If somebody starts commuting this way, within a year, he or she will have lost 13 pounds on average.

When we launched our companywide bike-sharing program, 2,400 of our 10,000 employees signed up to use the bikes within the first six weeks and 12% of those people hadn't ridden in years. When you get people on two wheels, you unlock this feeling of being a kid again. Biking is going to be a great advocacy source for change for cities and for health as well."

A version of this article appeared in the September 2009 issue of Fast Company magazine.

I bike to work here at Fast Company most every day, weather permitting here in NYC. Last week, the bike parking racks were full by the time I arrived, this was a first. I had to park my bike two blocks away. It's a good sign that more people are riding to work.

Same is with me in terms of losing the weight (45Lb down in a year), but the infrastructure has to improve for biking to work (similar to Sweden and Denmark). There is no much road biking culture, at least in Greater Toronto Area. Also companies should be supportive by building showering facilities for healthier employees. Hopefully, lots will change in this area in years to come!